Cyprus’ energy programme in line with international legitimacy

The Republic of Cyprus’ energy programme is in line with international legitimacy and the sovereign rights of an UN and EU member state, Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said on Tuesday.

Prodromou had been asked by journalists to comment on references made by Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan who had claimed that the eastern Mediterranean region will face a sustained security threat if Cyprus continues its operations there.

The Spokesman pointed out that this is confirmed by the support Cyprus enjoys from great powers and he referred to State Department statements and the Russian government’s statements that they support the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereign rights as well as the clear position taken by the European Council.

There is no reason to comment and the reply has already come from the European Council which has called on Turkey from Varna to cease its violations, provocations, illegal actions which add nothing but tension, Prodromou said

If the Turkish side and especially Turkey means that it would wish for the region to be tension free there is an obvious way to achieve it. It would mean the resumption of negotiations, and for Ankara to truly contribute to them by accepting all the parameters put forward by the UN Secretary General, he added.

He said that the above parameters refer to the abolition of guarantees and the withdrawal of troops and to have a solution of the Cyprus problem and then indeed we will be able to have conditions which will not lead to any tension.

In the meantime, he recalled that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has for some time now called on the other side through the United Nations for a resumption of dialogue on the basis of the Guterres framework. He added that President Anastasiades seizes every opportunity to make an effort for the resumption of talks in the United Nations framework.

Reacting to a comment by a journalist that the Cyprus problem has been placed on ice until the elections take place in Turkey, he said that for us nothing is on ice.

He spoke of a constant ongoing effort, adding that Cyprus’ President is often in contact with foreign leaders and that on Wednesday he will take part in the EU summit with the Western Balkans and candidate member states and that he takes every opportunity to make an effort for the resumption of negotiations in the UN framework.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. A Conference on Cyprus, under UN aegis, which took place at the Swiss resort of Crans � Montana, in the summer of 2017 ended inconclusively.